Italy vs. Uruguay, 2014 World Cup: Diego Godin wins it while Luis Suarez bites again

Suarez and/or the Uruguayan Football Association have until 4 p.m. ET Wednesday to provide any evidence they deem relevant to their position. The player denied the accusation, saying, “These situations happen on the field. I had contact with his shoulder, nothing more, things like that happen all the time.”

No punishment from the referee occurred during the match. Uruguay won, 1-0, and advances to the Round of 16. Their lone goal was scored by Diego Godin shortly after the incident, in the 81st minute.

June 24 was, until the 80-somethingth minute of the noon ET kickoffs, easily the World Cup’s worst day. Costa Rica-England was completely irrelevant, while Italy’s match against Uruguay was going to be played in unfortunate circumstances: Italy needed a 0-0 draw to advance, and the Azzurri have slow 0-0 draw written somewhere deep in their bones.

But as it turned out, the 160 minutes of dire football we had been served were not a marker of the World Cup taking a new and unwelcome turn into the unspeakable plateau of ennui that usually constitutes the sport’s ‘biggest stage.’ Group D was a slow burning fuse, but when it exploded, it did so with a pretty good bang. The explosion, naturally, involved (and will perhaps consume) Luis Suárez.

Luis Suarez likes two things in life: Playing soccer at an extremely high level and biting people at an even higher one.

We won’t throw too much shade on him for needing a mid-game snack, heck that’s why orange slices were invented. Thanks to social media we got more than a fair share of Suarez memes to satiate our appetites:

The game’s first half was a pretty lifeless affair, with Italy quite happy to dictate possession and keep Uruguay off the ball for as long as possible. They didn’t look to play with any pace or purpose, but rather slowly wear Uruguay into submission. On the rare moments the Celeste did have the ball, they counter-attacked pretty ineffectively, with the Azzurri defensive trio more than capable of handling their direct threat.

But by halftime, chances were still at a premium. Uruguay lacked the necessary creativity and invention from midfield to cause problems, while Italy’s attack partnership of Immobile and Balotelli was disjointed and lacking in support from a pretty static midfield. When Italy coach Cesare Prandelli withdrew Balo for midfielder Marco Parolo at the break, it didn’t look like getting any more exciting.

Italy are going to be a bit annoyed by this.

Wait, he didn’t, did he? Did Luis Suárez really just bite someone again? For the third time?

Yes. Yes, that looks to be a bit on Chiellini’s shoulder.

Soccer fans are passionate rapscallions, so naturally when Italian midfielder Claudio Marchisio was sent off for a red card, the TV broadcast had to find the perfect Uruguay fan to sum up the feelings on the pitch.

His jiggling is almost hypnotic ...

That’s textbook dangerous play and an easy red card.

*fart noise*

With a damn Busaiku Knee!

There are still concerns over the health of Luis Suarez, but he starts for Uruguay as expected. Italy have changed their tactics to deal with the strike pairing of Suarez and Edinson Cavani, switching from a back four to a back three, and employing the entire Juventus back line across their defense.

Daniele de Rossi is not expected to play for Italy as he’s carrying an injury, leaving Prandelli to decide whether to go with Thiago Motta or a more aggressive lineup with Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti in the midfield.

Diego Lugano remains doubtful with a knee injury, while Alvaro Pereira will have to pass a concussion test before being allowed to play.

Uruguay tried to get away with resting Luis Suarez in the first game, which ended up backfiring even if it was completely necessary. The good news for them is that he looked healthy in their last game, torching England on two occasions.

With Suarez back in the Uruguay lineup, Italy are expected to make some changes from the team and formation that played in their last two games. Is changing to a three-man defense and a pair of strikers up top what they need to right the ship? It’s also worth noting that they only need a draw, while Uruguay have to win.